Author: Rick Morgan
The Strategic Future Issues Work Group has created a “Hard Trends Report” that forms the foundation for a lot of ongoing discussions within ACT. It is a road map for all sorts of work that we need to do. These are not fly-by-night trends but, rather, true, enduring changes that are altering, or will alter, the landscape.
We’re looking at our culture, our world, our industry, our society to see what’s going on that demands a response from our industry. We’re thinking forward about what those responses will look like—trying to come up with proactive engagements with these opportunities. The “Hard Trends Report” helps us stay focused on not only the major trends but also the shifting plates underneath the trends that affect us on a continuous basis.
More than trends, too, it deals with evolution of society—things that are going on under the radar. The report identifies issues that will influence our industry, and it generates action items the industry should take. Some of these are things ACT will take on, such as new work groups that dive deep into issues. Some are issues that will be handled at a different level within the Big “I” on which ACT will play a supporting role.
Here are three of the top takeaways from the report, but I encourage you to read the report in its entirety to grasp the issues to their fullest.
Consumer Trends: Today’s consumer is different from the traditional buyer. ACT is looking at trends within the customer journey and figuring out how we can capitalize on the new normal of customer experience. The Customer Experience Work Group has grown out of those ACT discussions. Through that work group, we will reinvent the customer experience not just play catch-up. We want to meet and set the expectations of the customer. Things like e-signatures, electronic access to policies, online payment options—these all seem like standards, but they aren’t universally accepted in the industry yet. Without these, insurance seems complicated to the new consumer.
Changing Nature of Risk: Some new technologies are getting rid of some risk. Others are creating new needs for insurance products or are causing an overhaul of the type of insurance products available. Look at personal auto insurance for example. Technology has changed the nature of risk, potentially shifting liability away from the driver and onto the manufacturer. There are as yet undefined exposures as well, such as cyber hijacking of automobile controls. We also have to consider the changes to insuring small commercial accounts. Think of auto repair shops, for instance. What does the probable reduction in fender benders do to their business insurance model? ACT has established the new Changing Nature of Risk Work Group with Steve Anderson and Jerry Fox at the helm to delve into the broad swath of issues under this rubric.
Mobility: The ‘Mobile First’ Work Group will continue to look at the insurance industry’s response to mobility. That includes apps, agent users and customer users as well as dealing with offline customers—it is important to remember that those will still exist. What role will mobility play in the independent agency distribution channel, and how can we maximize our personal-touch strengths through the technologies available while also avoiding the pitfalls, such as E&O and de-personalization of the process? The work group will be looking at sales, marketing, internal workflows, carrier interactions and more.
There are other issues, such as diversity, that the Big “I” is already dealing with, so ACT will play a supporting role in that overarching effort - ACT will bring a tech perspective that might be different from what they otherwise would have. Regarding diversity, we are starting to look at our response to the immigrant community, which has different underwriting data; some consumers don’t have the history that would generate data that we’d typically use. ACT could offer that kind of support to other groups as well—user groups, associations, big-agent groups and vendors are good examples.
The issues are universal, so no matter who you are in the industry—agency, carrier, vendor, association— and no matter your size, everybody is confronting game-changing issues. But are they DOING something about it. The importance of the “Hard Trends Report” is the work it generates after being read. The more ACT presses forward on informing our members, the greater the chance agencies will take action. We’re not about asking agents to drive their own path; we’re increasing our partnership by creating awareness and doing the research and analysis that helps agency stakeholders be smarter so they can chart their path forward.
Rick Morgan is co-chair of the Strategic Future Issues Work Group and senior vice president of marketing at WAHVE.